bergman



UNiTED STATES PATENTonFicE.

AXEL G. BERGMAN, 0F NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR T0 ORDNANCE ENGINEERING CORPORATION, 0E NEW YORK, Y., A CORPORATION 0F NEW JERSEY.

- ILLUMINATING-SHELL.

' Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 27, 1919.

Application mea January e, 1919. serial No. 269,762.

To all whom t may cmcem:

Be it known that L AXEL' G. BERGMAN, a subject of the King of Sweden, residing vin the borough of Manhattan, city, county,

and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in which the following -under the same conditions as explosive shells, making it possible to use similar firing charges and for the shell to cover the same distance as an explosive shell of the same size. A

A further purpose of the improvement 1s to afford an entirely practical construction which can be manufactured and assembled with reasonable facility and at ya minimum cost.

An additional purpose of the 'improve ment is to insure sustaining the illuminant in the air while burning and to provide a novel arrangement of retarding and sustaining devices which. makes it possible to 4utilize'a sustaining parachute of. requisite size. in roportion to theilluminant body.

'Anot-lierzfeature of the improvement resides in utilizing and arranging the parts of the apparatus in such a way as to provide a strong `illuminating substance and the parachute devices against any undue pressures or strains while in the shell, and also cause 35- their proper 'dischargefrom the shell.

In general, the invention consists in'poi sitioning an illuminant bodyat or toward the front of a shell, with'retarding and sus-l taining devices, or parachutes, at the rear lend, and at the proper moment expelling the entire mass from the rear of the shell. The

retarding and sustaining means consists,

preferably, of a series of two, three, or morel construction, that will protect Athecated at the free end of a flexible connection which carries the illuminant body, and comes into operation last, when the speed has been materially reduced and the illumi- -nant is in proper condition to be suspended and burnt. i The parachutes being of gradually increasing size from the illuminant body toward the free end of the connection, and the smaller parachutes serving to ei'ectively retard the flight of the illuminant body, makes it possible to utilize a sustain.- ing parachute of larger size and less heavy construction as the strain'towhich it is subjected is notas great as when it must perform the functions of both retarding and sustaining. The parachutes and flexible connection are joined to the illuminant body by means of a swivel which 'coperates with ball bearings, thus permitting free relative movements of the connection and illuminant body and insuring the parachutes unfolding and coming into proper action at the right time.

4 The illuminant material is housed within a thin container, preferably ofsheet metal, which also serves -to contain the swivel and its support, and surrounding the illuminant container are metallic bracing members which transmit practically all the pressure of the expelling charge andprevent any undue pressure being brought upon the illuminant material. The parts are held within the shell by a bottom plug or plate' which is provided with means for prevent-l ing itsl turning with reference to the'shell,

as the latter is ired from a gun, and it is` also held in place by devices such as pins, whichare-'readily sheared or broken by the force of the-expelling charge when the illuminant is to be ejected from the shell.

To these and other ends, the invention consists in certain improvements and com.-

binations of parts, as willbe hereinafter more fully described, the novel .features being pointed outin the claims at the end of the specification.

In the drawings- I Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional view i of an illuminating shell built according to ,y I and the ber Cadjacent to the base C vof the a pref rred embodiment of my invention; Fig. 2 is a sectional view on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1, looking upwardly; s Fig.v 3 is a sectlonal view on the, l1ne 3 3 of 'Fig 1, lookin downwardly, with parts removed and bro en away;

Fig. 4 is a sectiona/lfviewron line 4-4 of ig. 5 is a detail plan view of one of the spacing means 5 l Fig. 6 is a slde elevatlon, illustratmg the position of the illuminant body and sustaining means when suspended in the air.

While the structure disclosed embodies a practical adaptation of my several improvements, and has been found.l successful, for the purpose of this application it is used merely by way of example, and not in any sense to restrict the invention to the details show'n. ,In the present structure, A designates the shell bodyl and B is a cap adapted to be threaded -within the body A, and to contain the conventional type of time fuse, which'forms no part of my invention. The cap B preferably has formed. as a part thereof a plate C which is relatively quite thick, as shown in Fig. 1, and the purpose -of this is to prevent any likelihood of forcing the fuse from the shell body when the expelling charge is ignited, and to insure the illuminant body and its associated parts being properly ejected from the rear end of the shell,A as will appear more clearly from the remainder of the description. The cap B and plate C may be formed separately if desired.

The illuminant body consists of an illuvminating composition or material D housed with a container E, which latter is comparatively thin, and preferably formed of sheet or stamped metal. Superimposed cap is the expelling charge F vwhich is surrounded by a ber ringy G.' The expelling charge F is 'shown asy contained in a. bag F', but may be loose in the chamber. The ring G may be of any material which will notl ignite any possible loose grain of powder by friction. Located between the expelling charge and the ber ring just mentioned, and the illuminant body, 1sa barrier which comprises a metal disk or plate H, an outer ber ring I and a central ber disk J.' The barrier just referred to is provided with openings which are reduced adjacent to the expelling charge and enlarged adjacent to the illuminant body. This is accomplished by providing a series of lsmall openings h in the disk H, while the space i between the ber ring disk J provides a lsuiliciently increased .opening to constitute a gas expansion chamber, whereby to permit of the necessary expansion of gases when the expelling charge is ignited. The explosive gases entering first through the small openings h and then throughthe enlarged opening z', are reducedl in pressure, and the expansion thus created prevents undue pressure -upon the illuminant material which might otherwise causethe latterto explode.l Theignition of the illuminant hence takes place withsafety and certainty. The ber or other relatively soft ring G serves as a spacing member, and also by its non-grinding construction 'reduces the danger of explosion from a grain of powder of the expelling charge becoming lodged between two relatively movable metallic surfaces. K is a filling disk-` of ber or the like such as usually employed for spacing or filling 4purposes within the charge, I arrange aroundA it a plurality of bracing members, preferably in the form of semi-cylindrical plates e which are co-extensive lengthwise with the container E or longer than the latter. The plates e abut the ber ring I at one end .of the' metal spacing plates M at the opposite end, and transmit the force of the explosion'charge to the plates M and N. In this manner, the illuminanft material itself is relieved of any excessive pressure while being expelled from the shell.

The illuminant body is governed by retarding and sustaining means, which-in the illustrated embodiment-comprise three parachutes O2 and O, all secured to a common Yconnection O4 of any suitable -exible material such asrwire, cord or a chain. The parachute`03 is the largest one of the series and is arranged at the free end'of the flexible connection 0*, the llatter being secured to the illuminant body at its opposite end, and theparachutes O2 and are of gradually decreasing size. of these parts within the shell, the parachute O3 is folded rst into as small a mass, as possible, andthe connection O* and the remaining'parachutes are then wound about the parachute O3. Consequently, when the parts are expelled from the shell, upon unwinding, the smallest parachute O comes into action rst. vT 's is of such small size as to prevent its being readily torn ordestroyed by the sudden strain to which it is In the housing I subjected,while at the same time it suiices `minant body is further retarded, untilrrbyw.

the time. the sustaining parachute Os comes into actlon, the movement 1s so slight as to obviate u nduly straining or tearing the `Th fabric of the large parachute. The latter can consequently be made ofa thinner, and

lessl bulky material, and this makes it pos` HVsible'to obtain a greater expanse of sustainingsurface in the parachute-and consequently to hold the illuminant body suspended for the required time of illumina- A tion. It is within the province of my invention to utilize two, three or more than three parachutes, and lthe important essential upon which the proper operation of the apparatus depends is a parachute of small cross-section which acts in the first instance to slow up the illuminant body until it attains such a speed as to permit the larger sustainf ing parachute to come into action without dangerl of breaking it.

It is, furthermore, highly desirable that-a freely movable connection be had between the illuminant body and the flexible connection O4, and to this end, I provide the latter with a swivel P which is arranged within a socket portion Q.` The socket portion Q is held within the container E by the inwardly bent end portion L, and has a flange g upon which are supported a series of balls g2, and against which engages the head of the swivel P. The socketiportion Q is recessed at g3 to receive a closure in the-form of a plate g4. The plate last mentioned is frictionally engaged in the recess g3, and separates the illuminant material from the linterior of the socket Q and from the swivel'. The parachute retarding and sustaining devices be ing wound up in the manner already described, are housed within the semi-.cylindrical plates N, which serve to protect the fabric of the parachutes, and to transmit the explosive force of the expelling charge.

R designates a bottom plug or plate engaged in a recess in the end of the shell, and resting against the adjacent ends of the semi-cylindrical plates N and the lead or other gas check ring r. The plug R is preferably heid within the Shen, mail the expelling. charge is exploded, by forcing it Y into the shell with a driving fit. This construction also tends to make a gas tight fit so as `toavoid ingress of the gases of the propelling'char'ge to the interior of the shell. I may also emplo vpins r2 which extend transversely throug openings inthe wall of lthe shell and into corresponding openings in the plug. These pins are preferably of copper or other similar softmaterial which is Yadapted to be sheared or broken to release the plug'R- when the expelling charge is ignited. The shell partakes of a rotary ,mo-

t1on as it leaves a gun,- and this is likely to cause a relative turning the time fuse is set.l

' the shell and the plug To overcome this, Iy provide these parts with oppositely dis,-

posed cut-away portions, formlng recesses 'extending longitudinally of the shell body.\

' referably of cylindrical ese recesses are formation, althougii they may be otherwise constructed, and are adaptedto receive pins fr" of steelor like hard material, constituting -a rigid locking key. These pins are driven into the recesses and held frictinally withV sulicient force to avoid dropping out; they M, disk m, and plates N are inserted.

- Finally, the wound-up parachute devices are positioned Within the plates N, suiiicient slack or unwound part of the connection O* being left to permit this, and then the vplug `R is inserted in the end and the shearing and locking pins driven into engagement with it.

i In the operation of the shell, the time fuse being set in the usual manner in this class of devices, the expelling charge is ig- 1 members or plates c, after which the plates y nited at the end of the period for which i 0 Upon ignition of the charge, 1t forces all of the parts behind it lout through the rear end of the shell, while the latter is traveling forwardly, the pins r2 being severed by the explosive force to release the bottom plu R.- The illuminant body is ignited by the ring of the expelling charge and as soon as the parts are free of the. shell, the impetus of the illuminant body at once starts to unwind the iexible connection, and brings into play the small parachute O. Further unwinding of the connection opens the parachute O2 which acts together with the first mentioned parachute to materially retard the travel of the illuminantbody. Finally, the connection is entirely -unwound and the parachute O3 is opened, by which time the speed of the vent tearingthe sustaining parachute which gradually falls,Y and maintains the illuminant body properly suspended and in approximately one position until the illuminating material is entirely consumed.

In order to hold the particles of the illuminant body together, and prevent the body from disintegrating, upon expansion of the container E, or from other cause, the mass of illuminant material' has a reinforcing member embedded therein. Preferably, .this

tendendy/betweenis,theiormbf a coil S of soft or pliable 13,0

metal such as copper, which can be compressed with the plastic mass when the laty ter is molded into the finished shape. The

vball bea-rings for said swivel.

coil S may be anchored at one end, as by a head s engaging a recess in the end ofthe container E. The reinforcing member may take other forms, or be of dii'erent materials depending upon the construction and form of the illuminant body.

The parts which I .have described may be otherwise constructed, and modified as to details, without departing from 4the purposes or essential features of my invention, and it is intended that the claims of this application shall coverany such changes as come within the underlying features and intended scope of the invention.

'hat I claim is 1. The combination with an illuminating shell, of an illuminant body, and means for retarding and subsequently sustaining the illuminant body consisting of a flexible connection having one end attached thereto and a plurality of parachutes attached to the connection at diEerent points between its free end and the illumina-nt body, one of said parachutes acting to retard the illuminant body and another to sust-ain the same.

2. A structure according to claim 1, characterized in that said parachutes are of different sizes, the largest one being located at the 'free end of the connection and the-smallest one located nea-rest to the illuminant 3. A structure according to claim 1, characterized in that said parachutes are' of different sizes, the largest one being'at the free end of the connection and the smallest one located nearest the illuminant body, and the connection and parachutes being wound from the free end, whereby when the illuminant body is ejected, the smallest parachute comes first into action, to retard its flight, and the largest parachute comes into connect-ion for the sustaining means, a swivel carried by the illuminant body and attached to one end of the iexible connection, and

6. The combination with an illuminating shell, of an illuminant body, sustaining means for the illuminant body, a flexible connection leading to the sustaining means, a socket member carried by the illuminant body, ball bearings in the socket, a swivel joined to said iexible connection and mounted in the socket member in engagement with said ball bearings, and aclosure separating the socket'member from the illuminant.

7. The combination withL an illuminating shell, of an illuminant body, an expelling charge, and a barrier between the expellingcharge and the illuminant body, the barrier having openings extending therethroughV shell, and between said metal wall and the illuminant body, and having a large opening therein, said separable wall formed of a material which is substantially softer than steel.

9. The combination with anilluminating shell, of an illuminant body, an expelling charge, a metal wall located adjacent to said charge and having a series of small openings therein, and a liber wall located between said metal wall and the illuminant body and having a large opening therein.

10. The combination with an illuminating shell, of a. cap portion, an illuminant body, an expelling charge arranged adjacent to the cap portion, a metal spacing wall between Asaid charge and the illuminant body, and a. ring surrounding the charge and located between the cap portion and said metal wall, said ring contacting with a steel portion of the shell and being formed of a material which is substantially softer than steel.

11. The combination with an illuminatving shell, of a cap portion, an illuminant body, an expelling charge arranged adjacent to the cap portion, a metal spacing wall between said charge and the illuminant body, and a, ber ring surrounding the charge and located between the cap portion and said metalwall.

L2. lThe combination with an illuminating shell, of an expelling charge, an illuminant lbody including a, vthin container, and metallic bracing walls made in longitudinal sections, said walls being co-extensive lengthwise with the container and acting to transmit the explosive force of the expelling charge and to relieve the illuminant body from excessive pressure.

13. The combination with an illuminating body including a thm container, and a lon- A gitudinal expansible metallic bracing Wall co-extensive lengthwise with the container and acting to transmit the explosive force of the expelling charge and to relleve the illuminant 'body from excessive pressure,

said bracin wall being separable from the illuminant ody whereby said body is vfreed from the weight thereof after. expulsion from the shell.

14. The combination withan illuminating shell and an expelling charge, of a bottom plug, the plug and shell having oppositely arranged cut-away portions formlng openings extending longitudinally ofthe shell, and locking pins positioned in said openings and preventing relative -turning of the shell and plug.

15. An illuminating shell for riled guns having a rotating band, said shell having a body portion, an expelling charge, a plug 'adapted to be forced from said body lportion by said charge, and means connecting the body portion and plug and acting to prevent relative turning of said parts during rotation of the shell, said means exerting greater resistance against relative rotation than against axial movement.

16. Thel combination with an illuminating shell and an expelling charge, of a bottom plug, means connecting the plug and shell, acting to hold them .together and 'adapted to be severed to permit the plug -to be `forced out by the expelling charge, and -additional devices acting to prevent relative rotation of the shell and plug.

17. The combination .with an illuminating shell, of an illuminant body arranged tow-ard the -front endof the shell, parachute sustaining means arranged toward the rear end of the shell, and connected to the illul minant body, and an` expelling charge located in front of the illuminant body and adapted to eject the said illuminant body and the parachute sustaining means from the rear end of the shell.

18. The combination with an illuminating shell, of anexpelling charge, an illuminant body consisting of a thin container, metallic bracing walls co-extensive with said container and acting to transmit the explosive force of the expelling charge, a socket member held within theglluminant body by said container, ball bearings in the socket member, a parachute sustaining dev1ce, and a swivel connected thereto and located 1n sa1d socket member engagement with the ball bearings.

19. he combination with an illuminating shell, of an illuminant body, means for retarding the Hight of the i-lluminantbody, means for sustaining the illuminantbody while burning, and devices acting to simul-l taneously eject the retariiingv and `smstaining means fromthe shell.

20.- The' Combination with an'illumihating shell, of an illuminant body, means for re.- tarding the flight of theilluminant body, and means arranged in a line'with the retarding means for sustaining the illuminant body while burning.

21. The combination withan illuminating.

shell, of an expelling charge, an illuminant` body including a thin container, and separable semi-cylindrical bracing walls ar'- ranged around the container, co-extensive therewith lengthwise, and'acting to transmit ythe explosive forceof the expelling charge and to relieve the illuminant body from excessive ressure.

23. T e combination with an illuminating shell, of an illuminant body arranged toward thev front' end of the shell, retarding and sustaining means arranged toward the rear end of the shell and connected with the illuminant body, andan expelling charge located in front of the illuminant body and acting to eject saidilluminant'body With the retarding and sustainingmeans from the rear end 'of the shell.

24. The combination with an illuminating shell, of an illuminant body arranged toward the front end of the shell, parachute devices arranged toward the rear end of the shell and connected to the illuminant body,

l end of the shell, a barrier between the expelling charge and the illuminant body, bracin plates surrounding the illuminant body an engaging said barrier at the front end, spacing means engaging the rear ends of said bracing plates, 'and bracing plates also arranged about the parachute devices and engaging said spacing means at one end and Said plug at the opposite end, whereby the pressure of the expelling charge is transmitted from the barrier to theplug through said bracing plates .without imposing any strain on the illuminant body or on the parachute devices.

'25. An illuminating body having a contaner, means connected to said container for supporting said body and said body having a reinforcing member embedded therein forV maintaining the continuity of the unconsumed ortion thereof during burning. l

26.- n illuminating body having a con- "tainer, means connected to said containerior ffl i 1,505,187

supporting said body, and said body having 29. The combination with an illuminating a reinforcing member embedded therein for body, of a container, and a reinforcing coil maintaining the Continuity of the unburned embedded therein and attached at-one end to portion thereof during burning', the reinthe container.

5 forcing member being attached to the eon- In Witness whereof I have hereunto signed l5 tainA u d h my name.

2 n i uminatino o y avino a reinforcing coil embedded therein. b AXEL G BERGLIAN' 28. An illuminating body having' a rein- Witness: l 10 forcing coil of soft metal embedded therein. f E. HARLAN. 

